An overview of mycotoxins, their pathogenic effects, foods where they are found and their diagnostic biomarkers (original) (raw)
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An overview of mycotoxin contamination in foods and its implications for human health
Toxin Reviews, 2010
Mycotoxins are natural contaminants of cereals and other food commodities throughout the world and they significantly impact human and animal health. Mycotoxins are toxic secondary metabolites produced by species of filamentous fungi growing on grains before harvest and in storage. When ingested, inhaled, or absorbed through skin, mycotoxins may reduce appetite and general performance, and cause sickness or death in humans. Mycotoxins subject to government regulation in most countries include aflatoxins, fumonisins, ochratoxins, deoxynivalenol, zearalenone, and patulin, produced by species of Aspergillus, Fusarium, and Penicillium. Aflatoxins, fumonisins, and ochratoxins pose the most serious threats to human health worldwide. This review describes the prevalence of mycotoxins in foods and its implications on human health, which may help in establishing and carrying out proper management strategies. Data from detailed investigations of food mycotoxins worldwide help provide safer food for consumption and help prioritize future research programs.
The role of food contamination by mycotoxins in human diseases: a review
2007
Direct or indirect (by animals) contamination of food by mycotoxins produced by fungi is very common and should be considered a major problem in this era of globalization be- cause it can severely affect human health and sometimes produce cancer. Some of the mycotoxins are well known and widely studied, but many others have not been evaluated yet for their poten- tial toxicity. In this study we review the best-known human diseases induced by the most common mycotoxins such as aflatoxin B1, ochratoxin A, fumonisins and zearalenone and their mechanism of action. (Nutritional Therapy & Metabolism 2007; 25: 8-11)
Analysis of naturally occurring mycotoxins in feedstuffs and food
Journal of animal science, 1993
Aflatoxins, zearalenone, deoxynivalenol, fumonisins, and their respective metabolites require specific procedures for their determination because of their diverse chemistry and occurrence in complex matrices of feedstuffs and foods. Major sources of error in the analysis of these mycotoxins arise from inadequate sampling and inefficient extraction and cleanup procedures. The determinative step in the assay for each of these toxins is sensitive to levels below those that are considered detrimental to humans and animals. Aflatoxins can be determined in grains and animal fluids and tissues by TLC, HPLC, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and ELISA procedures. Zearalenone, an estrogenic mycotoxin, can readily be determined in cereal grains and foods by HPLC (50 ng/g) and by TLC (300 ng/g). No incurred levels of zearalenone or its metabolites have been detected in animal tissues destined for human consumption. Deoxynivalenol can be determined in wheat and corn at 300 ng/g by a...
Development and Limitations of Exposure Biomarkers to Dietary Contaminants Mycotoxins
Toxins
Mycotoxins are toxic secondary fungal metabolites that frequently contaminate cereal crops globally, presenting exposure hazards to humans and livestock in many settings. The heterogeneous distribution of mycotoxins in food restricts the usefulness of food sampling and intake estimates for epidemiological studies, making validated exposure biomarkers better tools for informing epidemiological investigations. While biomarkers of exposure have served important roles for understanding the public health impact of mycotoxins such as aflatoxins (AF), the science of biomarkers must continue advancing to allow for better understanding of mycotoxins’ roles in the etiology of disease and the effectiveness of mitigation strategies. This review will discuss mycotoxin biomarker development approaches over several decades for four toxins of significant public health concerns, AFs, fumonisins (FB), deoxynivalenol (DON), and ochratoxin A (OTA). This review will also highlight some knowledge gaps, k...
Mycotoxins in foods that cause damage to humans
Journal of Applied Biotechnology & Bioengineering, 2019
Background: Mycotoxins are toxic substances from the metabolism of RESULTING fungi Aspergillus flavus: such as, Aspergillus Penicillium, Aspergillus ochraceus, Penecillum expansum and Fusarium graminearum. There are four Important mycotoxins: aflatoxins, Ochratoxin A, patulin and deoxynivalenol being responsible for the contamination of food for human consumption. Methods: The research was Carried out and selected based on inclusion criteria, articles and publications related to mycotoxins, food, toxicity, Mechanisms of action and analysis, published in Scielo, MEDLINE / PubMed, Google academic and Science Direct, to the total of 65 articles Were reviewed, but only 50 met the inclusion criteria above. Results: The presence of mycotoxins in food remains a public health problem; it is found because worldwide and causes serious pathology in humans and animals both. Conclusion: it is Necessary to continue advancing in the investigations related to the presence of mycotoxins in food for ...
Mycotoxins are toxic secondary metabolites produced by some species of fungi. Aflatoxins, fumonisins, trichothecenes and ochratoxins are the common mycotoxins in Nigeria. Aflatoxin is the most frequently reported in literatures, with trichothecenes being the least, they cause yield loss to farmers as well as constituting major health risk to humans. The occurrence of mycotoxins in food is a serious problem that Nigeria is facing presently, as it continues to pose threat to feed and food safety of animals and humans. There is the need to seek for approaches that would lead to reduction in their toxicity. The practice of good sanitary measures right from the farm to storage, creation of awareness campaign to indicate the toxic effects associated with mycotoxin poisonings in humans and livestock, and proper evaluation of food crops for its presence can go a long way in achieving the target reduction in incidence of mycotoxins in Nigeria. 1.0 Introduction Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites of fungal origin which produce toxic responses when ingested by animals or humans. The word 'mycotoxin' is a combination of a Greek word, 'mykes' meaning 'fungus' and a Latin word 'toxicum' meaning 'by poison' (Rai et al., 2012). Mycotoxicosis is a term used to denote the diseases that result from the ingestion of mycotoxin by animals and humans (Nierman et al., 2008). The acuteness of a specific mycotoxicosis may vary in different victims. Various factors determine the severity of a mycotoxin; among them are the level of toxicity, dosage, age, nutritional and immunity status of the victim (Peraica et al., 1999). The general attraction to the study of mycotoxins started in 1960 when more than 100,000 turkeys died in London, England after consuming contaminated groundnut meal that was imported from Brazil (Blount, 1961). The disease that resulted was called 'Turkey X' disease. Aspergillus flavus was later isolated from the groundnut meal and the toxic agents named 'aflatoxin' (A. flavus toxin) accordingly (Splensley, 1963; Kensler et al., 2011). The word 'mycotoxin' was then coined in 1962 after the Turkey X incident. Most mycotoxins of concern are produced by three genera of fungi, namely, Aspergillus, Penicillium, and Fusarium. These are the predominant fungal genera associated with food grains during storage (CAST, 2003). These genera are considered significant because of their ubiquity in the environment and their ability to produce various types of mycotoxins like aflatoxins, fumonisins and ochratoxins (Juan et al., 2010). However, the presence of these fungi does not necessarily imply the presence of toxins. The mycotoxigenic fungi can be classified as either field or storage fungi. It should be noted that a fungus may produce several mycotoxins and a mycotoxin may be produced by different fungi (Fernandez-Cruz et al., 2010). There are intrinsic and extrinsic factors which influence the production of mycotoxins. The intrinsic factors include pH, water activity (a w) and redox potential of the substrate while the extrinsic factors are the relative humidity, temperature and oxygen availability of the environment where the commodities are produced, stored or processed (Whitlow and Hagler, 2004; Nagwa et al., 2013). Over 400 types of mycotoxins have been reported (Bhat et al., 2010), but only four (aflatoxins, fumonisins, trichothecenes and ochratoxins) will be discussed in this review. While the other mycotoxins are important for studies, aflatoxins, fumonisins, trichothecenes and ochratoxins are of greater interests because of their prevalence in agricultural produce and the harmful effects they exert when they are consumed by animals and humans (Richard, 2007). The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimated that about 25% of the world's agricultural produce is contaminated with mycotoxins which cause huge losses for farmers (Wu, 2007). These losses are measured in reduced crop yields, lower quality, reduced animal performance and reproductive capabilities, and increased disease incidence. The biochemical properties of mycotoxins are diverse, and their toxic effects are exceedingly variable.
Analytica Chimica Acta, 2013
A rapid and sensitive method for the determination of 18 mycotoxins in 24 different food matrices has been developed and validated. With the exception of beverages and oil samples, a simple extraction with acetonitrile:water 80:20 (0.1% formic acid) was applied. Fruit juice, wine and beer samples were simply diluted with water containing 0.1% formic acid. Oil samples were partitioned with acetonitrile/hexane in order to remove fats. Analyses were made by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) coupled to tandem mass spectrometry with triple quadrupole. Validation was carried out in all selected matrices using blank samples spiked at two analyte concentrations. Extraction recoveries between 70-120% and relative standard deviations lower than 20% were obtained for the wide majority of analyte-matrix combinations. Matrix-matched calibration was used for a correct quantification in order to compensate for matrix effects. Limits of quantification were lower than maximum permitted levels for every regulated mycotoxin-matrix combination. The acquisition of three SRM transitions per compound allowed the unequivocal confirmation of positive samples, supported by the accomplishment of ion intensity ratios and retention time when compared with reference standards. The developed methodology was applied to the analysis of 240 samples within a total diet study performed at Comunidad Valenciana (Spain). The most frequently found mycotoxins were deoxynivalenol, fumonisin B1, ochratoxin A and zearalenone at low µg•kg-1 levels, mainly in bread, breakfast cereals and beer.
Contamination of food with mycotoxins and human health
Archives of Industrial Hygiene and Toxicology
Mycotoxins are natural contaminants of cereals and other commodities throughout the world. They are produced by various strains of moulds, particularly in tropical countries. Due to significant trade of cereals, humans in temperate countries can also be exposed to mycotoxins. The most common route of exposure to mycotoxins is ingestion, but it may also involve dermal, respiratory, and parenteral routes, the last being associated with drug abuse. Apart from acute and chronic toxic effects on human health called mycotoxicosis, some mycotoxins are proved or suspected human carcinogens. This paper describes various human diseases caused by ergot, afflatoxin, ochratoxin A, 3-nitropropionic acid, trichothecene, zearalenone, and fumonisin. It also gives a quick review of human carcinogenicity evaluations of the international Agency for Research on Cancer and of regulatory limits of mycotoxin concentrations in various commodities.
Aflatoxin and Mycotoxin Analysis: An Overview Including Options for Resource-limited Settings
Aflatoxins - Occurrence, Detection and Novel Detoxification Strategies [Working Title]
Aflatoxins are fungal toxins of serious human health concern, more so in some developing countries where significant contamination of staple foods occurs and the prevalence of aflatoxin-related health effects is high. A plethora of techniques for food mycotoxin testing has been developed. Modern chromatographic techniques allow quantitative determination with high accuracy and sensitivity, but are expensive and difficult to operate and maintain. Rapid tests provide a cheaper alternative for screening large numbers of samples, although they need validation on all food matrices that are tested. One important aspect of tackling aflatoxin contamination and exposure is to ensure the availability of suitable methods for detection and quantification that are rapid, sensitive, accurate, robust, and cost-effective for food surveillance in resource-limited settings.